OVERALL DESCRIPTION (Applicant's description) This Comprehensive Cancer Center is based at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and the UAB Medical Center. The Center has been funded by NCI continuously since 1971 and currently has 228 faculty members, $49.3 million of research support, and 138,000 square feet of Cancer Center controlled space. The Cancer Center administratively functions as a matrix organization with involvement of faculty and resources from 36 departments in seven Schools of the institution. The Center evaluates 3,000 new cancer cases annually and places about 700 patients on clinical trials. The Center has 100 cancer beds in the University of Alabama Hospital and extensive modern ambulatory facilities in The Kirklin Clinic. It has a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary and translational research efforts. It is organized into seven major program areas: Immunology, Structured Biology, Molecular Genetics, Virology, Experimental Therapeutics, Neuro-Oncology, and Cancer Prevention and Control. It has a developmental program in Breast/Ovary/ Prostate cancer. The Center supports 12 shared facilities including Biostatistics, Clinical Studies, Tissue Procurement, Cell Marker/In Situ Hybridization, Electron Microscopy, Fermentation, Mass Spectroscopy, Media Preparation, Oligonucleotide Synthesis, Peptide Synthesis and Analysis, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, and X-ray Crystallography. This proposal also requests shared facility support for a Transgenic Animal. Pathogen Free Rodent, Radiolabeling, Protein Purification and Micro-Analysis, and Clinical Molecular Biology facility. In addition, the Center has an active developmental effort with annual pilot research project funding and funding for support of new investigator recruitment and/or start-up. A formal planning process involving internal committees and external consultants provides advice to the senior leadership of the Center. The Center has strong support from the university and a productive record of successful competitive grant support and scientific publications.